Friday night’s game began as a fast past contest with both teams forcing the issue early, pushing the ball up the court with little hesitation. Forcing the issue led to early turnovers committed by both teams. Eventually both teams settled down and a highly competitive basketball game broke out early. Jefferson and Millbrook traded baskets in the first quarter, but it was the Pioneers defense that ultimately made all the difference. Millbrook pressed Jefferson early and often, forcing even more turnovers. Those Cougar turnovers led to easy transition baskets by Millbrook. When the Cougars did break through the Millbrook press they had trouble finding good shots against the Pioneers’ zone defense. That defense helped the Pioneers pull away from the Cougars with leads as big as 17 points in the first half. The Cougars were limited to just four points in the second quarter. The score at halftime was 31-18, the advantage going to Millbrook. Jefferson fought through the adversity to narrow the lead to 10 points in the third quarter but Millbrook’s pressure was just too much for Jefferson to overcome.

Most of Jefferson’s points came from lay ups and shots from dribble penetration. Jefferson was led in scoring by Senior Darrod Doleman who had 7 points for the game, and teammates Gonzales and King helped out with 6 points each. Their scoring efforts were not enough as the Millbrook Pioneers defeated the Cougars 65 to 46. The Pioneers were led in scoring by point guard Rze Culbreath who had 16 points and his teammate Thomas Baylor helped their cause by contributing 11 points to an unselfish Pioneer team. Millbrook did not hesitate to make the extra pass to the open man which led to open shots and layups, all of which significantly contributed to their offensive success.

Jefferson head coach Richard Lewis’ answer for Jefferson’s woes was a simple one, “We got to get better”. It’s a simple answer but an appropriate one. Any coach would want his team to improve in some aspect after a loss, and Coach Lewis is no different. Jefferson did not lose because lack of effort. They ran up and down the court with the Pioneers for four quarters, but their efforts came up short Friday night in Winchester. Jefferson will look to get better in time to face their next two opponents, Sherando Thursday Dec. 20, 2012, and then Handley Friday night at Jefferson High School.